


Finding solace

by HolyParkner



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Crying, Funeral, Grieving, Harley and Peter meeting for the first time, Hurt, My Poor Boys, One-Shot, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Sad, Sad Harley Keener, Sad Peter Parker, Sad bois, Sadness, harely keener needs a hug, platonic bros, so much hurt, tonys funeral
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26096290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyParkner/pseuds/HolyParkner
Summary: His blue eyes were met by a pair he didn’t recognize in the mirror, the pair that stared back at him looked tired, dead. It took him a second to realize that the dead and glazed eyes were his own. He swallowed the lump in his throat and straightened up. He just needed to get through the service and then he could leave and forget everything, block it all out. That’s what he usually did anyways, it was a process he was used to.OrHarley attending the funeral. And Peter meeting Harley for the first time.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 145





	Finding solace

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I whipped this up real quick because I was feeling the feels and needed to vent it out by torturing my poor boys, sorry boys. Anyways, please enjoy this incredibly sad story. I’ll see you at the end.

The funeral. It was miserable, every second of it. From the time Harley arrived to where he was now, sitting on the fresh grass and leaning against an aged sugar maple tree. Harley knew the exact tree he was leaning against. 

He discovered some time ago that besides robotics and engineering, the only other thing he was remotely interested in was trees. There was something stable about trees, the fact you could see a tree in a forest as a child and then return to the same tree when you were an old man gave Harley some semblance of peace. He didn’t like change; maybe that’s why he was struggling so hard today.

When he arrived, he felt like an outsider. He had known Tony, and Tony had known him, but the looks he was receiving from the strangers that were scattered around weren’t exactly welcoming. Then again, Harley didn’t blame them. Why would Tony tell any of them about a random kid from Tennessee? He wouldn’t. Because there wasn’t anything to tell about.

Harley would be lying if he’d said he wasn’t surprised when he got the letter inviting him to the funeral. He knew Tony cared about him. He knew that. But at the same time everyone else at the funeral knew him better, they fought with him and were there with him when he-  _ No.  _ Harley didn’t want to imagine it. He couldn’t.

Shortly after arriving, he had escaped to a bathroom and splashed some water on his face. He needed to calm down. He never struggled with anxiety before, but today… today was different. 

He felt like an idiot for being self-conscious about how he was dressed, worrying if people would like him or not. None of that mattered. He was going to a fucking funeral, and he was worrying about how he looked? Vain much? He shook his head and let the water dribble off of his face.

His blue eyes were met by a pair he didn’t recognize in the mirror, the pair that stared back at him looked tired,  _ dead. _ It took him a second to realize that the dead eyes that were glazed over were his own. He swallowed the lump in his throat and straightened up. He just needed to get through the service and then he could leave and forget everything, block it all out. That’s what he usually did, school bullies? Blocked out. Abusive Stepfather? Blocked out. Homophobes mugging him? Blocked out. Suffice to say, it was a process he was used to.

The service had been beautiful and meaningful, but miserable for everyone. And once it was done, Harley went for a walk. No one had noticed him go because he had slipped away when everyone went back inside the house.

On Harley's walk around the lake, he found a sugar maple tree and knowing it was an old and aged tree; he decided it was the perfect tree to sit next to and be with his own thoughts.

  
  


He sat there for precisely 47 minutes before he was interrupted by a brown-haired boy who appeared to be around Harley's age.

“H-,“ the boy cleared his throat, “Hi, uh. I’m Peter.” Harley had seen him at the funeral, near the other  _ Heroes _ , and he was curious as to who the boy was. Starks illegitimate son? Possibly. A hero? Unlikely, judging by his age. A family relative? definitely not. He gave up trying to figure the boy out. “Harley.” Abrupt answer? Yup. But he was grieving, it was within his rights to not act friendly.

This “ _ Peter _ ” guy nodded to himself and then looked out onto the smooth lake. The water was eerily smooth, like glass. Just waiting to be shattered. 

Harley took the small moment to study him more. His brown curls were soft and slightly golden from the sunlight, his eyes had obviously been crying, and the rest of his face looked drained. Harley imagined that he himself didn’t look much different.

“Do you want to sit?” Harley patted the grass next to himself. He wasn't entirely sure why he offered, maybe he felt bad for Peter, maybe he related to him. Peter muttered a soft “Thank you.” And sat next to Harley.

They just stared at the lake, listening to the wind rustle the trees' leaves. The birds flew overhead and twittered through the air. To Harley the silence didn’t feel awkward, he had expected it to be. In reality it was sort of soothing. 

Peter's voice broke through Harley's thoughts. “How did you know him? If it’s okay for me to ask, I don’t want to pry.” Harley didn’t mind him asking at all. “He kind of crashed into my garage a few years ago? Um, yeah,” Harley smiled to himself and continued, “I was just having a normal day and then  _ boom,  _ Tony Stark was in my garage. I thought it was a burglar at first, I was ‘bout ready to fire my potato gun at him.” Peter’s eyes lit up, “Wait no way! You’re the potato gun kid?” 

Harley chuckled and nodded his head. “Did he mention me before?” It was Peter’s turn to nod aggressively, “He totally did! All the time. He is working on an internship for you or something- wait, that was supposed to be a surprise. Now he’s gonna be mad-“ The sparkle that had appeared in Peter’s eyes was killed immediately, and replaced with the same grim look Harley had seen in the mirror hours prior. 

Harley attempted to bring the mood back to where it had been. “You know he still sent me emails and such every year, the newest Stark phones, new equipment, I had a whole garage full of lab equipment for a long time.” Harley reminisced. “Had? What happened to it?” Peter inquired. “The whole garage burned down, it’s a long story.” A story that involves an asshole stepfather. “Oh that’s terrible.” Peter’s remorse sounded genuine.

“It’s fine, I’m over it now,” Harley forced a smile to reassure Peter that he was indeed over it, “How did you know Tony?” Peter was a little shaken up by the question, though he should’ve expected it. “I got a Stark internship about two years ago, so I’ve been working with him since then.” Peter could still remember the day that Tony Stark had showed up in his Aunt's apartment, the day his whole life changed, “he changed my life.” Peter added fittingly, then he decided to stop talking because the painful lump in his throat had returned.

“Tony was one of a kind,” Harley was getting choked up too, “you know the day he broke into my garage, the bastard made me make him a sandwich?” Harley had meant to laugh but what came out was a choked sob.

Both boy's eyes brimmed with tears, and soon overflowed. Harley, half wanting to comfort Peter and half needing to be comforted, pulled Peter into a hug. The other boy held onto Harley and together they cried. It was painful. Waves of sobs wracked through them, and it hurt. It hurt like hell. But they stayed together like that, seeking and finding the solace they so desperately needed in the other person. They stayed like that for a long time, neither one of them ready to face the reality of the world. And that was perfectly okay.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I LOVE THE COMMENTS AND KUDOS!<3 they make-a me so happy :D
> 
> Welp I hope I’m not the only one crying, did you need a tissue? I’m sorry I used them all :( I hope you enjoyed this, even though it was sad. I’ve never written this kind of hurt before so let me know what you thought of it! Ta-ta!


End file.
